Associations between skeletal muscle strength and chronic kidney disease in patients with MASLD

Abstract Background A skeletal muscle strength (SMS) decline is associated with metabolic diseases, but whether SMS also declines with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is uncertain. This study examined the associations...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xin-Lei Zhang, Yeqing Gu, Jing Zhao, Pei-Wu Zhu, Wen-Ying Chen, Gang Li, Wen-Yue Liu, Wen Zheng, Ni Zhang, Li-Li Chen, Giovanni Targher, Christopher D. Byrne, Kaijun Niu, Dan-Qin Sun, Ming-Hua Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Communications Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-00821-x
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Background A skeletal muscle strength (SMS) decline is associated with metabolic diseases, but whether SMS also declines with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is uncertain. This study examined the associations between SMS and the risk of CKD in MASLD population. Method We performed a large-scale study with four cohorts: PERSONS and NHANES 2011–2014 cohorts for the cross-sectional investigation, and TCLSIH and UK Biobank cohorts for the longitudinal investigation. A handgrip dynamometer measured handgrip strength as a proxy for overall SMS. Participants were stratified according to CKD status [non-CKD vs. CKD (stages 1–5) groups]. Results In the PERSONS cohort, the CKD group has a lower handgrip strength than the non-CKD group (27.14 ± 9.19 vs. 33.59 ± 11.92 kg, P < 0.001). Higher handgrip strength is associated with lower odds of abnormal albuminuria or CKD (OR: 0.96, 95%CI:0.92-0.99 and OR:0.95, 95%CI: 0.91-0.99 respectively). The highest handgrip strength tertile is associated with the lowest risk of having abnormal albuminuria or CKD (compared with the lowest or middle tertile). Results are similar in NHANES cohort. Furthermore, the highest handgrip strength is independently associated with the lowest risk of incident CKD in MASLD (HR: 0.95, 95%CI: 0.92-0.99 and HR:0.99, 95%CI: 0.98-0.99 in TCLSIH and UK Biobank cohorts). In Kaplan-Meier curve analysis, the cumulative incidence of CKD is lowest in the highest handgrip strength tertile compared to the lowest or the middle tertile. Conclusions Higher handgrip/muscle strength is independently associated with a lower risk of CKD and abnormal albuminuria in MASLD population.
ISSN:2730-664X